Report: Mars comes next in space exploration (USA Today)

The Valles Marineris is shown in this undated composite image of the surface of the planet Mars. The gigantic Valles Marineris can be compared to the Earth's Grand Canyon but is as long as the U.S. is wide. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

How’s this for a space-aged wish list?

A group of scientists with the National Research Council released an ambitious plan to push space exploration to another level in the coming decade.

USA Today reports that funding will likely be a big obstacle. But researchers say that’s the point — that the U.S. government is slacking off on its commitment to space exploration.

“The U.S. Administration and Congress are not providing the once-promised support for space exploration,” officials with The Planetary Society told USA Today. “The budget assumed by the decadal survey will not be provided.”

The report is largely a recommendation for future space projects. It calls for three large missions over the next decade, according to USA Today:

Mars Astrobiology Explorer Cacher (MAX-C) — “a mission to Mars that could help determine whether the planet ever supported life,” should be the top priority if NASA can keep its cost to $2.5 billion, about $1 billion less than the report panel’s estimate.